1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of sports equipment and in particular to golf clubs. The invention is especially related to clubs for use in putting and to improvements in such clubs, but may be used on other clubs as well.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Golf enthusiasts and equipment manufacturers have continually sought to improve golf clubs, including putters, for many years. These efforts have included the addition of structures to improve the play of the clubs and structures designed as teaching aids to assist in instruction in the use of particular clubs. For example, elements have been developed to assist in teaching effective putting technique. Club improvements, of both types, include elements designating the center of mass of the club head or the effective contact area of the club head, i.e., the xe2x80x9csweet spot.xe2x80x9d Modifications have also been added to assist the user in properly aligning the club head with the ball and the desired path of the ball to achieve a true hit and an accurate shot.
The following U.S. Patents are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,975,341
U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,984
U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,468
U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,690
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,962
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,429
U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,379
U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,777
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,612
U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,016
U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,230
The present invention relates to a golf club head having several novel features in a variety of combinations. The club head can include aligning means, such as reflective lenses or a reflective surface, as described herein. The club may also have a counterbalance above the plane of the ball and an arrow shape, as more particularly described below.
The club may also be constructed of a plurality of materials, as described herein. The various materials of construction preferably are of differing densities and thus have different vibrational modes. The different vibrational modes and densities act to cancel out the vibration produced on striking the ball and assist in providing a true hit of the ball.
The club head, such as a putter head, will preferably have the mass of the club distributed in the horizontal plane, rather than being concentrated at the center of mass. This distribution increases the moment of inertia of the club in the horizontal plane and increases the effective size of the xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d on the club face. The club is thus more effective at delivering a true hit, even if contact with the ball is off of the location of the center of mass of the club head.
It is an object of this invention to provide a golf club head, such as a putter head, which incorporates a vibration dampening structure.
It is an object of this invention to provide a golf club head, such as a putter head, which includes an optical aligning feature.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf putter head which has a curved reflective surface to aid in aligning a putt.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf putter which may accommodate a selectively installed striking surface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf putter which has an improved sweet spot to create a true hit on contact with the ball.
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head with one or any combination of said features.
The invention summarized above comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated by the subjoined claims.